January 10/12 12:29 pm - Canadian Track Squad Heads to Beijing for World Cup #3

Posted by Editoress on 01/10/12

The Canadian Track Cycling Team has embarked on a journey across the world, to Beijing, China, where it will look to score some precious UCI points to qualify spots for Canada at the Olympic Games.

The UCI Track Cycling World Cup resumes for the final two rounds this upcoming weekend, from January 13th to 15th. With just over six months to go before the 2012 Olympic Games in London, six members of the Canadian Track Cycling Team will be racing against the world’s best to secure Olympic qualifications points.

“We are here with one goal: to get the coveted UCI points to qualify teams for the 2012 Olympics in London. It has been an intense two years work for this team, and we have Tara [Whitten] and Zach [Bell] always on top. We currently have only a few more chances to qualify teams, but at the moment we are very much still in the hunt,” said Head Coach Richard Wooles, from Beijing.

In the Sprint events, Travis Smith of Calgary and Joseph Veloce of Fonthill, Ontario, will sprint solo in the men’s race, while Monique Sullivan of Calgary, will race for Canada in the women’s Sprint event. Smith, Veloce and Stéphane Cossette of Chicoutimi, Québec, will team up to compete in the Men’s Team Sprint race, trying to qualify Canada for the Olympic Games.

Both Jean Michel Lachance of Québec City and Alex Cataford of Ottawa will make their 2012 World Cup debut at this third World Cup race of the season. Lachance will take part in the Men’s Omnium race, while Cataford will race the Individual Pursuit and the Scratch race.

Smith and Sullivan will also take part in the exciting Keirin race, also an Olympic discipline.

The events in China will feature racing in each Olympic discipline: Omnium, Team Sprint, Team Pursuit, Sprint and Keirin.